Calibration Mum: I Prefer Not To

In Calibration Mum: I Prefer Not To, the artist uses motion-capture techniques to transfer the daily tasks of motherhood – such as breastfeeding, changing nappies, playing or putting the child to bed – onto her digital avatar. This creates scenes that focus exclusively on the sequence of movements involved in these actions, thereby presenting a mother’s work in isolation without exposing her. Even as the motion-capture suit is being put on, the avatar gradually takes shape, only to later multiply and act within virtual spaces: invisible babies are nappy-changed as if on an assembly line, or figures float humming through desert landscapes. The fragmented movement sequences condense time without losing their connection to real time. Recorded over a period of 16 hours and constantly recalibrated, individual gestures coalesce into a collective choreography. As the workload grows, the avatar multiplies – a symbol of the sheer scale of maternal care work and the question of how many bodies would be needed to cope with it. Originally developed to boost industrial efficiency, motion capture is repurposed here to critically examine the mechanisation of the female body. The CO2-efficient handbag horse, the long-legged flood horse, the Libyan algae steed and the genetically modified primordial pony: These four potential horses of the future are being developed in collaboration with palaeontologists from the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Messel Pit, based on scientific findings. They are the result of selective breeding, genetic manipulation and environmental changes caused by climate change. As the main protagonists of a 3D-animated video installation, they inhabit four different future habitats and demonstrate their survival strategies.